Stop losses are an essential part of any risk management system because they help traders resist trading on emotions. Whenever you open a trade, you should always set a stop loss. If you stick to your plan and don’t move them, you’ll find you won’t ever let your losses run too long. Remember these rules:
1. A stop loss should be considered and decided before a position is entered.
2. A stop loss should be placed immediately at the time of entry.
3. A stop loss amount should not allow more than a 2% loss of your account balance—for day trades and scalp trades, a stop loss should not allow more than 1% loss of account balance.
Archives of “account balance” tag
rss14 Symptoms of Stock Trading Addiction
- You know every stock symbol on the top of your head.
- You’re not satisfied until you can make a profitable trade to make up for bad trades.
- You enjoy the challenge of trading over actually making money.
- You are constantly flustered by the ups and downs of a stock in a given day.
- You start to make crazy excuses and blame others for your bad trades.
- You frequent message boards and social networks to try and pump up your stock.
- You are glued to the Twitter stream to see what traders are actively buying and selling.
- First thing you do when you get up and last thing before you go to sleep is check your stocks.
- You find and follow a new stock everyday.
- You start buying based solely on what somebody says.
- You bet large portions of your portfolio on a few stocks.
- You check your account balance every 5 minutes of market hours.
- You scoff at the trading strategies of other people.
- You never really actually get better at trading.
3 minutes each day
THE TRADE DECISION
1. Never add to a losing position.
2. Always determine a stop and a profit objective before entering a trade. Place stops based on market information, not your account balance. If a “proper” stop is too expensive, don’t do the trade.
3. Remember the “power of a position.” Never make a market judgment when you have a position.
4. Your decision to exit a trade means you perceive changing circumstances. Don’t suddenly think you can pick a price, exit at the market.
THE MARKET HAS CHARACTER
5. In a Bull market, never sell a dull market, in Bear market, never buy a dull market.. (more…)
Complacency & Exhaustion
Complacency
When I think of complacency two major things come to mind:
Often a traders biggest loss comes after a string of winners. This is well documented and suggests to me that complacency is present. The ‘every swing I take is a home run feeling’ or the ‘I can do no wrong feeling’. Sure enough when in this state the market is all too willing to smash you back down hard as a reminder of your mortality.
The other thing I think of are traders who have taken their foot off the gas. Who have decided that their approach is the only thing that works and will never need changing. You have to stay on your toes. The chances of the same approach working over and over ad infinitum are slim. It may not need a complete overhaul and rather only subtle changes but it is complacent to believe something is a sure thing.
Exhaustion
Most traders are imminently aware of their account balance – what I think many don’t think about is their emotional balance. Trading can take a serious toll on your emotional balance. It is a competitive endeavour that requires decision making under stressful conditions. Each trade you chose to assess and then take uses up some of this emotional capital. You need to be aware of this. Not doing so leads not only to exhaustion but possible burn out.
As I said I’d love to read some examples from you on these points as they pertain to trading in the comments section. If you’d like maybe we can go into these areas in more detail in the future.
13 Rules for Making Good Trading Decisions
Rule #1
Never, ever, under any circumstance, should one add to a losing position…not ever!
Averaging down into a losing trade is the only thing that will assuredly take you out of the investment business. This is what took LTCM out. This is what took Barings Brothers out, this is what took Sumitomo Copper out, and this is what takes most losing investors out.
Rule #2
Never, ever, under any circumstance, should one add to a losing position…not ever!
We trust our point is made. If “location, location, location” are the first three rules of investing in real estate, then the first two rules of trading equities, debt, commodities, currencies, and so on are these: never add to a losing position.
Rule #3
Learn to trade like a mercenary guerrilla.
The great Jesse Livermore once said that it is not our duty to trade upon the bullish side, nor the bearish side, but upon the winning side. This is brilliance of the first order. We must indeed learn to fight/invest on the winning side, and we must be willing to change sides immediately when one side has gained the upper hand.
Rule #4
Don’t hold on to losing positions
Capital is in two varieties, mental and real, and of the two, the mental capital is the most important.
Holding on to losing positions costs real capital as one’s account balance is depleted, but it can exhaust one’s mental capital even more seriously as one holds to the losing trade, becoming more and more fearful with each passing minute, day and week, avoiding potentially profitable trades while one nurtures the losing position.
Rule #5
Go where the strength is
The objective of what we are after is not to buy low and to sell high, but to buy high and to sell higher, or to sell short low and to buy lower.
We can never know what price is really “low,” nor what price is really “high.” We can, however, have a modest chance at knowing what the trend is and acting on that trend. We can buy higher and we can sell higher still if the trend is up. Conversely, we can sell short at low prices and we can cover at lower prices if the trend is still down. However, we’ve no idea how high high is, nor how low low is.
Rule #6
Sell markets that show the greatest weakness; buy markets that show the greatest strength.
Metaphorically, when bearish, we need to throw our rocks into the wettest paper sack, for it will break the most readily, while in bull markets, we need to ride the strongest wind, for it shall carry us farther than others. (more…)
Dennis Gartman- Trading Rules
R U L E # 1
Never, ever, under any circumstance, should one add to a losing position … not EVER!
Averaging down into a losing trade is the only thing that will assuredly take you out of the investment business. This is what took LTCM out. This is what took Barings Brothers out; this is what took Sumitomo Copper out, and this is what takes most losing investors out.
R U L E # 2
Never, ever, under any circumstance, should one add to a losing position … not EVER!
We trust our point is made. If “location, location, location” are the first three rules of investing in real estate, then the first two rules of trading equities, debt, commodities, currencies, and so on are these: never add to a losing position.
R U L E # 3
Learn to trade like a mercenary guerrilla.
The great Jesse Livermore once said that it is not our duty to trade upon the bullish side, nor the bearish side, but upon the winning side. This is brilliance of the first order. We must indeed learn to fight/invest on the winning side, and we must be willing to change sides immediately when one side has gained the upper hand.
R U L E # 4 DON’T HOLD ON TO LOSING POSITIONS
Capital is in two varieties: Mental and Real, and, of the two, the mental capital is the most important.
Holding on to losing positions costs real capital as one’s account balance is depleted, but it can exhaust one’s mental capital even more seriously as one holds to the losing trade, becoming more and more fearful with each passing minute, day and week, avoiding potentially profitable trades while one nurtures the losing position.
R U L E # 5 GO WHERE THE STRENGTH IS
The objective of what we are after is not to buy low and to sell high, but to buy high and to sell higher, or to sell short low and to buy lower.
We can never know what price is really “low,” nor what price is really “high.” We can, however, have a modest chance at knowing what the trend is and acting on that trend. We can buy higher and we can sell higher still if the trend is up. Conversely, we can sell short at low prices and we can cover at lower prices if the trend is still down. However, we’ve no idea how high high is, nor how low low is.
R U L E # 6
Sell markets that show the greatest weakness; buy markets that show the greatest strength.
Metaphorically, when bearish we need to throw our rocks into the wettest paper sack for it will break the most readily, while in bull markets we need to ride the strongest wind for it shall carry us farther than others.
R U L E # 7
In a Bull Market we can only be long or neutral; in a bear market we can only be bearish or neutral.
In a bull market we can be neutral, modestly long, or aggressively long–getting into the last position after a protracted bull run into which we’ve added to our winning position all along the way. Conversely, in a bear market we can be neutral, modestly short, or aggressively short, but never, ever can we–or should we–be the opposite way even so slightly.
R U L E # 8
“Markets can remain illogical far longer than you or I can remain solvent.”
The University of Chicago “boys” have argued for decades that the markets are rational, but we in the markets every day know otherwise. We must learn to accept that irrationality, deal with it, and move on.
R U L E # 9
Trading runs in cycles; some are good, some are bad, and there is nothing we can do about that other than accept it and act accordingly.
Thus, when things are going well, trade often, trade large, and try to maximize the good fortune that is being bestowed upon you. However, when trading poorly, trade infrequently, trade very small, and continue to get steadily smaller until the winds have changed and the trading “gods” have chosen to smile upon you once again.
R U L E # 10
To trade/invest successfully, think like a fundamentalist; trade like a technician.
It is obviously imperative that we understand the economic fundamentals that will drive a market higher or lower, but we must understand the technicals as well. When we do, then and only then can we, or should we, trade. (more…)
13 Trading Rules
R U L E # 1
Never, ever, under any circumstance, should one add to a losing position … not EVER!
Averaging down into a losing trade is the only thing that will assuredly take you out of the investment business. This is what took LTCM out. This is what took Barings Brothers out; this is what took Sumitomo Copper out, and this is what takes most losing investors out.
R U L E # 2
Never, ever, under any circumstance, should one add to a losing position … not EVER!
We trust our point is made. If “location, location, location” are the first three rules of investing in real estate, then the first two rules of trading equities, debt, commodities, currencies, and so on are these: never add to a losing position.
R U L E # 3
Learn to trade like a mercenary guerrilla.
The great Jesse Livermore once said that it is not our duty to trade upon the bullish side, nor the bearish side, but upon the winning side. This is brilliance of the first order. We must indeed learn to fight/invest on the winning side, and we must be willing to change sides immediately when one side has gained the upper hand.
R U L E # 4 DON’T HOLD ON TO LOSING POSITIONS
Capital is in two varieties: Mental and Real, and, of the two, the mental capital is the most important.
Holding on to losing positions costs real capital as one’s account balance is depleted, but it can exhaust one’s mental capital even more seriously as one holds to the losing trade, becoming more and more fearful with each passing minute, day and week, avoiding potentially profitable trades while one nurtures the losing position.
R U L E # 5 GO WHERE THE STRENGTH IS
The objective of what we are after is not to buy low and to sell high, but to buy high and to sell higher, or to sell short low and to buy lower.
We can never know what price is really “low,” nor what price is really “high.” We can, however, have a modest chance at knowing what the trend is and acting on that trend. We can buy higher and we can sell higher still if the trend is up. Conversely, we can sell short at low prices and we can cover at lower prices if the trend is still down. However, we’ve no idea how high high is, nor how low low is.
R U L E # 6 (more…)
Greed & Fear
Greed
As prices rise, they naturally attract more attention. As more and more people jump onboard the rally, its climb accelerates. But in all the excitement, there is a tendency to confuse account balance (the amount actually on your account) with account equity (the total value including the sum of your open positions). People begin to treat their potential profits as if they were already realized. This expectation can sometimes cause basic reversal signals to be overlooked.
Additionally, those who missed out on the opportunity early on, when the trend was still young, are becoming hypnotized by the length and size of the rally. Jumping onboard late is a risky game, however, as those who got in early will eventually need to take their profits. There is also a bit of the “greater fool” factor, as anyone who is still buying is now buying at a higher price, and from a seller who has reason to believe the move may soon be over. The idea then is that hopefully someone will keep on buying after you, at an even higher price, when you eventually decide to become a seller yourself.
Fear
When prices start falling, they awaken fear and panic. Fear is one of our most primal emotions, which explains why prices often fall faster than they rise. People holding longs run for the door trying to sell as quickly as possible, and short sellers motivated by the falling prices add their own orders to the mix as well. When those short orders are eventually covered in order to realize profit, there are temporary rallies which can give false hopes.
This crowd mentality frequently creates moments of market imbalance which can be capitalized upon, once one can learn to recognize the signs and interpret them correctly. Above all else, the key to developing this skill is practice.
ARE YOU A GAMBLER?
1) The Gambler Trades Through Earnings Reports: If you are a trader (as opposed to an investor) and decide to hold a stock/option position through earnings you are gambling. Due to the very nature of earnings reports your position could gap down or up; therefore, you are choosing to take a big chance (e.g., gamble) on what that stock will do post earnings. Sure, you could get lucky and win big, but you could also lose big. Long term success in the stock market is not about luck, but about skill. There will always be another trade on another day. Think before you trade making sure the odds (i.e. the probabilities) are with you, not against you.
2) The Gambler Trades Without A Plan: If you make your trading decisions based on the morning news, on the latest BLUE CHANNELS story, on a new strategy not yet tested, or on a market that you have never traded, then you are gambling. The successful trader has an army of stocks to trade, the weapons suited for that army, and a time tested trading strategy in place before a position is considered. When everything is going according to plan then and only then will it be time to pull the trigger.
3) The Gambler Goes ALL IN and Risks Losing It All: If you trade ALL IN, believing your trading edge is 100% foolproof, then you are a gambler. There is no sure thing in the stock market. There are just too many variables and too many traders who can and will disagree with your perfect signal. The disciplined trader trades a small percentage of his account balance and believes in probabilities, not a sure thing, knowing that trading is not about being right but about making money.
It is best to leave gambling to the casinos where the house has the advantage. In trading, the trader who has the focus, patience, and discipline to follow a strategy will have the advantage over those who don’t every time. We trade the trader, not the market and when we make money it is usually when we trade against the gambling trader.